See the Light

This week scientists have made an amazing discovery, they have for the first time seen another solar systems sun and planets. Scientists have known about other planets and solar systems but this week, after a 12 year project they saw what they had dreamed of for the first time.

 

Light moves at 299,792,458 metres per second or 10 trillion kilometers per year. Amazing to think that you and I can look up to the heavens and see the light of stars that have been burned out for years but their light is still shining. The same way we can look out for a light that we believe is there but we have not seen it with our eyes and yet we see it in our dreams.

 

How often have we given up on a dream because it wasn’t visible, we believed in our dream but when we looked for it we couldn’t see it? Unbelief whispers poison in our ear and we begin to doubt what we believe.

 

Can you imagine living in Noah’s shoes? You live in a desert and it has never rained before and you and your family are building an enormous ship. People stop by to watch you and ask what you are doing. You say there is a flood coming and I am getting ready for it. Can you imagine the ridicule and total mockery they faced.

 

It is like pointing to the sky and saying look for the star. For years people will look and see nothing, for years they will doubt and mock you. Day after day and year after year you point up and say look and see, but they can’t see the light, the star is there the entire time,but they can’t see it. Then suddenly after traveling for hundreds of light years the light arrives and everyone can see what you knew was there all along.

 

Within your heart is a promise from God, there are dreams and visions, words and prophecies and they are more real then the world around you. Believe in your visions and the truth that you feel in your heart. It is that which is God has placed inside you that will change the world around you.

 

Keep believing and never take your eyes off the light from heaven.

 

Hebrews 11

 1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2This is what the ancients were commended for.

 3By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. 

America the Beautiful

Matt: 16- tells the story of a conversation between Peter and Jesus. Jesus has told Peter that he is a Rock and that his kingdom will be built upon his strength. Then Peter declares he will go anywhere and even die for Jesus. Jesus breaks the bad news that Peter will deny ever knowing Jesus in just a couple of hours, and he did just as Jesus had said he would.

Peter spoke his heart but he was filled with fear when challenged to prove his alliance and faithfulness to Christ.

 

Today millions of people here in the US will be casting their vote for the President of the United States of America. This has been called one of the most important Presidential races in our counties history, interestingly enough it is the candidates that are the big news, even more then the issues they each promote and believe in.

 

Hundreds of millions of people around the world live under a government that is oppressive and unwilling to listen to its people. Many counties control the religion and beliefs of their people. Freedom of speech and religion are not rights of their citizens, it is only a dream for them.

 

The campaigns run by both presidential candidates have been ugly, both men have shown the toughness and determination that is required of a leader and both men have shown how human and fallible they both are.

 

Today one of these men will win the election and they will have an enormous task set before them. Not only to fix many problems within our government, but to begin to bring about some kind of healing and reconciliation between the people of this 
wonderful country.

We must pledge to pray to support the President and the leaders in Government, who ever they are, they will need our prayers and support over the next 4 years.

 

I believe that our country can be a strong , fruitful, powerful, loving country, but only if all the people can answer some tough questions and think long and hard about the answer they give.

 

What do you want your country to be?

 

Before you answer that question you may want to think about what you can do to bring about this country you desire. What are you willing to do to see things change or stay the same.

Will you be like Peter, when faced with the fear of the cost of your choice, will you change your answer and run away and hide.

 

Most importantly have you prayed and fasted concerning your choice?

 

God bless you all on this great day and God bless America!

Now Get out and VOTE!!!!

 

Ps Stephen Alexander

Walking with Jesus

Prayer and Fasting, more prayer and more fasting.

It is amazing how some things never change and how we deal with the same subjects at very different times in our lives and in history.

When Jesus was facing something big he always did one of two things. He Prayed for guidance and he Fasted. Many times he did both. Jesus knew his Father had all the answers and prayer is our communications hotline to God. Fasting takes our focus off ourselves and puts it on God the Father. There is something about physical hunger that puts us in touch with our need for spiritual nourishment.

1 Corinthians 2:9 says it well, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"[b]— 10but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
We have no idea how big God is, BUT we can get a picture of Gods plan through spiritual connections, PRAYER!

Our focus can not be in two places at the same time, you must choose to either focus on your needs or Gods heart

The apostle Peter has taken a beating from most religious pundits for jumping out of a perfectly good boat and then sinking in front of Jesus and his friends. (Matthew 14:28 )

I only wish we all could have the excitement and faith that Peter had.
Not only did Peter love Jesus but he wanted to be just like him, he would do what ever Jesus asked and not question his every request. Peter saw Jesus walking on the water and said Lord call me out to you. Peter wanted Jesus to empower him and Peter walked on the water with Jesus. Only when Peter was distracted by the howling wind and crashing waves did Peter take his focus off Jesus and he did begin to sink, but Jesus was there for him. Jesus stretched out his hand and lifted Peter up and they both walk on the water back to the boat.

I would like to be the guy who took the chance, to have faith in God to walk hand in hand and sink, is far better then to just play it safe and stay on a sinking ship.

It is time we started walking on water, or at least try.
God has called each of us to join him on an incredible journey; it is up to us to take the first step towards him. God is calling, will you answer.

I hope you find time to pray and fast this week. Find a quiet place and spend some time with God. It will bring you places you could only dream of.

Have an awesome week.

Ps. Stephen Alexander

Raising your level of Faith

Wow, these past few weeks have been very exciting. A little too exciting for many, the fun is only going to get wilder, with a Presidential election (If this one doesn’t get you praying nothing will) and then the Holidays right behind that. We are in for a couple of crazy months.

The numbers we have been presented with hardly seem real, 700 Billion that’s a big number. I can’t imagine how many people will be affected by this enormous amount
of money.

 

Possibly some good will come out of this whole debauchery, at least one good thing. People will begin to question the way things are done and maybe they will challenge the status quo.

 

We can look back at history and think that things were better at one time then they are today, but in reality it only seems better because we know how things turned out.

( From John 11 )

 

Jesus was visiting a town not far from Bethany, when a message was sent to him that his friend Lazarus was very sick and near death. You would have expected Jesus to head straight to his friends side and pray for Lazarus and heal him, but Jesus doesn’t move.

For two more days Jesus continues to minister to people, praying for them and healing them. Then he announces to his disciples that they are headed back to see Lazarus.

 

Lazarus had been dead for days by time he arrived back in town to see the family, everyone was upset, Martha challenged Jesus as to why he delayed. Martha knew who Jesus was and believed that had he been there her brother would still be alive.

Martha had an incredible faith, but Jesus was challenging their thinking.

Lazarus is dead!

 

Not only was he dead but he had been in the tomb for a couple of days. Jesus was very sad and wept at the death of a friend he loved and cared deeply for.

When all hope was lost and all had given up on Lazarus Jesus speaks and raises him from the dead, He speaks life back into Lazarus.

Lazarus is alive!

 

John 12:24 

24I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

Think of this story in relation to your own life. We pray the message reaches God and then God responds, not always the way we would like and usually it requires faith on our part to see our prayers answered.

God gives us a vision and passion for his Kingdom and the plans he has for us, but then we must be prepared to die for these things to really grow. Everyone will be challenged in their faith and relationship with God. Your closest friends and family will not understand what you are doing when you choose to follow God. It will not be easy, but it will be worth it.

 

God wants to grow within you amazing gifts and ministries, but the old nature must die. Don’t look back when things get tough, press on for the prize is ahead of you. Put your faith and trust in God, it’s ok if you don’t understand, most of the time we don’t understand what God is doing, but we do understand WHO God is in our lives.

 

Shut off the TV and computer; stop listening to CNN, NBC and FOX and start listening to GOD.

 

We are rich because we have an awesome Father in heaven who will shower us with every gift and blessing if we just ask in faith.

 

Have an awesome week

 

Ps Stephen Alexander.

Expecting God?

The bible is full of amazing illustrations of mighty men and women of God doing all sorts of incredible things. The dead are raised to live again, Lepers bodies are made whole again, the blind are given sight, the deaf are able to hear. Mighty raging rivers are piled up and stopped by the word of God. Powerful trained army’s are defeated by a worship teams music.
One of the most unbelievable stories can be found in Mark chapter 6 vs. 4-6

4Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor." 5He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6And he was amazed at their lack of faith.

Jesus visits his own hometown and no one can see past what they thought Jesus was, a carpenter, a blue collar worker. For the people that knew Jesus earlier in his life they couldn’t believe he was the Messiah.
We can read this scripture today and say “Wow what a bunch of idiots!” What a blown opportunity to have Jesus walk into their lives and then just blow him off as a wack-o!

We all have been in the position of choosing between trusting God for something and relying in our own strength.

I have seen the power of expectation, it is the difference between the status quo and a life changing day.

Imagine what your life would be like if every day you woke up and expected God to do something amazing in your world.

Imagine what your life would be like if every day you woke up and expected to do something amazing in another persons world.
( a friend, a family member, a co worker )

Imagine what your life would be like if next week you expected God to impact your life through the message that was spoken at church.

Imagine what your world would be like if you took the responsibility for you life and placed your trust in God for every aspect of your life.

God is waiting for us to seek Him, to call on Him, to expect Him to speak to us.
The wait is over, cry out to God, open your heart, seek Him today and He will answer you as you have faith in Him your faith will grow.

Raise your expectations, God is BIG he can handle what ever your need is.

Ephesians 3:16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Have an awesome week,
Ps Stephen Alexander

A couple of quick updates below!

You can now sign up as a “Follower” of MANA, this is a great new feature from Blogger that will help us track who is reading our blog and where they come from. Please take a minute and sign up now -------------------------->


On our website at www.C3RAL.com we NOW have an ability to receive online giving and Tithes. Please take sometime and prayerfully consider becoming a financial partner with us as we build the church in Raleigh. All donations are tax deductible and we will keep all our partners updated monthly on the progress of the church and our Ministry to the community.

Simply visit the website, click on Donate and you will be taken to a secure PAYPAL website.
We are still working on other online features as well as new music downloads for FREE, and all the latest news about Christian City Church.

Thank you all again for all the prayer warriors out there lifting us up and covering us in prayer.

Be Blessed!

A New Name

The spoken and written WORD can be a powerful thing. The concept that words can’t hurt you is a poor attempt to comfort school children being harassed by a bully, but the fact is that as we grow and live life we learn that indeed, words can hurt.
Words can also be a powerful motivating vehicle; words can deliver healing and proclaim liberty to a lost and dying world.


With all the Blogs and websites and Cable and Satellite TV words are now everywhere and in large supply


Even more powerful then a word is a Name! A name in it self is a declaration and a statement about who someone is. In many cultures it is better to die then to bring shame to the Family name.
Some famous names that may come to mind might be Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Kennedy, Gates, Gandhi, Jobs, IBM, Chevy.


How about Peter or Abraham or Joshua?


Genesis 17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. 2 I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers."
3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.


For many of us the world has given us a name that we live our lives by, names like faithless and failure or hopeless and small. We see ourselves through the eyes of the world and we are defeated and lost, without power to see God and a future.

However God, your heavenly Father has given you a new name, a Holy name, one of Power and Purpose. Your life and everything around you is transformed when you connect with God!
God has a new name for you, a name of wonder and success.

Spend time with God this week, it is a new month, the kids are back in school, vacations are winding up, new opportunities are before you. Find out what your real name is, the name God has given you, it will change your life!

Have an awesome week!

If you enjoy this blog then consider joining us on Thursdays at 7:30 pm at our house.
We are located in Raleigh NC in the Wakefield Plantations Community.
12613 Honeychurch St.


Talk to you soon.
Ps. Stephen Alexander

New Vision

I, like many of you have spent the past few days watching the Olympics.
It amazes me that your life can be defined by a single choice that you make, or what you do when you are only 16 years old. That is exactly what is happening for many of the athletes competing in this years Olympics. If they win a gold metal or set a world record, they will be transformed into instant superstars.

This accomplishment comes at an enormous price to all of them, they did not simply wake up one day and say, “I think I’ll go to the Olympics and be the best.” Getting to the Olympics as one of the worlds best athletes cost them their lives, it cost them friends and it required them to make a choice between a normal life and an extraordinary life.
They must see the world different from how others view the world and they must believe that they will succeed.

In the 13th Chapter of Numbers, Moses has sent 12 men into the land that God had promised them, the idea was simple, see what is ahead of us.
Verses 26 – 33 tells of their report to Moses and the people.
10 men returned and said, yes there is enormous fruit and fertile land, BUT the people there are huge and they will kill us all. We can’t do it!!!


2 men, Joshua and Caleb returned a different report. They said yes, big fruit, fertile land and yes the people there are big, but we will take the land that our God has promised us!!! We can do it!!!

We all will face challenges in our lives, everyday we can choose to see through the eyes of doubt and fear and that will lead to failure. However if we choose to see through the eyes of Gods promises and we see with the eyes of hope and faith, then nothing will be to big and nothing will be impossible for you.

Because Joshua and Caleb believed God and His promise to them, they lived to walk in that truth. If you are believing for something from God, don’t be discouraged if it is taking longer then you would like. Joshua waited 40 years in the desert, but then at the appointed time God delivered them and all of Israel into their Promised Land.

Believe God for what he has promised you, and begin to walk through your life as a child of God. You are a child of God, you are not an orphan, you have not been abandoned. You have been adopted into the family of the King of Kings.

Dream Bigger, Believe Bigger and Live Bigger!

Have an awesome week, talk again soon,

Ps. Stephen Alexander

check out our new website www.c3ral.com

Plans change

We never plan to fail, we simply fail to plan.

I have always admired the planners of the world, I mean the folks out there that think things all the way through.
(They write their Tithe check out before they get to church)
I on the other hand am more like the guy that wants to build a house on the beach, I mean right on the beach. I know the possibilities of a storm wiping it out are pretty good. The idea of hearing the waves as they crash on the beach every night as I go to sleep is so tempting, I don't want to think about the possible problems with my plan.

We as a culture are always running after something and we are afraid to stop running. We think if we stop we wont be able to start again or we might miss something. It is the energy, the buzz we crave as much as any actual accomplishments.

Jeremiah 29:11 — "For I know the plans I have for you" Declares the Lord "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, Plans to give you Hope and a Future."!

More people then ever, if asked what they want to do with their lives, will say, "I don't know".
In this incredible time in history, when anything we could want to know about, can be found at the click of a mouse. It would seam that we know less than ever about ourselves.
Jeremiah brings a message of hope to a lost and dying people. The nation of Israel could not be more lost and without direction. Their king stopped following God. Not only wasn't he following God and seeking Gods direction for the future of the nation, but also he had put up monuments to worship other gods.

God has a plan for us, from beginning to end; from before we were born till after we die, God has a plan.

Ephesians 1:4 says “For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be Holy an blameless in His sight."

God is the greatest planner of all times, if you feel lost or without direction, ask God to help you find your way. He will light your path and he will always point to the truth. Bring your questions, your problems and your needs to God and let Him have them. He can handle it, he is a big God. You will find your questions answered, your problems worked out and your needs met and beyond that you will find out that God has a wonderful plan for your life.

Have an awesome week,
Talk to you soon
Ps Stephen Alexander

To Be or Not To Be

William Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet “To Be or Not To Be”?

These are words of passion and anguish, words of pain and suffering and yet they are words of love.

Throughout our lives we all have one thing in common, no matter whom you are, no matter where you live or how much money you make, we all wake up each morning and make a choice. To be or not to be, all that God has called us to be.

In 1776 a couple dozen men woke up and said “We declare our independence” a powerful statement and one that cost many men and women their lives, this one choice changed the world forever.

Somewhere around 2000 BC a man named Abram made a decision to follow God and a Nation was born. He said, “As for me and my house, we shall Worship the Lord God”.

On September 1st. 1939 Germany invaded Poland a decision that would lead to a World War, Tens of thousands of people would die because of this one decision.

You are surrounded by choices, Cable or Satellite, Coffee or Tea, Mayo or Mustard, Jesus or Self.

The biggest reason we shy away from answering big, life changing questions is we don’t want to count the cost. For every decision we make there is always a cost.

The cost for following God is everything!

Only when we realize that all we have is because of Gods endless grace and love for us; only then are we able to give it all to Him. Then an amazing thing happens, God gives it back to us and he multiplies our lives times eternity.

This week you will face many decisions, some easy, some tough, make God a partner in those tough decisions and watch where He takes you, you may be amazed.

In 1993 my wife and I walked into Christian City Church, Long Island with three of our children (Elizabeth was not yet born) and began an incredible journey that has brought us unimaginable joy and also some very difficult challenges. I know that our lives are blessed and full of hope and faith because of our joining our lives with the vision of Faith filled men and women we have worked along side all these years. Men and Women like Phil Pringle, Mark Kelsey, Pam Borrow, Bill Clemens, Dean Sweetmen, Simon McIntyre and Stephen Hickson are all unbelievable, powerful workers in Gods Kingdom, not because they are Superman, but because they are ordinary people that woke up one morning and made a decision to Serve God with all of their hearts for the rest of there lives. They have counted the cost and are willing to pay with their lives.

It is with enormous excitement that I announce (declare) that My Family and I are planting, Christian City Church, RALEIGH, NC.
We will hold our first service on July 24th @ 7pm (Thursday).

We will be holding meetings in our Home for the first couple of weeks, as we grow we will be moving into a bigger space just down the road.
We are located just off Capital Blvd. within Wakefield Plantation.

Our address is 12613 Honeychurch St. Raleigh, NC 27614
You can Google our address for directions.

If you are living in the Triangle area and are looking for an exciting, powerful, relevant church stop by and check us out. Bring a friend with you.
If you know anyone who lives in the area, let him or her know we are here.
Get the word out. Tell EVERYONE!!!!!

We are on Youtube at
www.youtube.com/c3raleigh
Our website will be up in a couple of days, I’ll keep you posted as that comes online.
You will be able to find all the service details on there as well as events and music, videos and blogs like MANA, which will be hosted on C3Raleigh’s website.

If you enjoy MANA I would simply ask for your prayers as we charge into this new season in God.
We need everything and yet nothing will help enough if God is not the absolute focus of everything we do.
Pray for a gathering, for God to gather people, all kinds of people.

Thank you all for your support and prayers.
Have an awesome week,
Talk soon

Ps Stephen Alexander

Let go of the Railing

In the year 1900 a dream was born, and it was a grand dream, unlike anything before it.
The White Star line commissioned the construction of two luxury liners far larger and grander then anything else on the sea. Both ships were built simultaneously, right beside each other, both would be famous and both now rest at the bottom of the ocean.

The two ships are the Titanic and the Olympia.
We have all seen the movie and we know the song, the Titanic is a bigger then life story about the perils of pride and ignorance.
The Titanic cost 7.5 million dollars in 1912, that is a lot of money and still substandard rivets and faulty steel plating were used.
The design of the Titanic was state of the art, and still it sank.
No expense was spared on this ship and in the end the seat that everyone wanted was on a life boat that cost $200.

Sometimes we see something and it looks awesome, it is wonderful and grand but the truth is if you buy into that thing it will kill you.

Money is a funny thing, and Jesus talks about it throughout his ministry. There is nothing wrong with money, I’ll take all I can get, but you must be the master of money. You can never let money be your master of it will kill you, you will chase after it and every time you get your hand on a bunch of money, it will be gone.

Jesus said it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, then for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Matthew 19:24

Money is the currency of the earth, but faith is the currency of God.

Sometimes you have to look past the logical, because the facts are not the truth. Truth is often difficult to find and doesn’t always make sense.

Tithing does not make mathematical or financial sense
If you give God 10% of all you earn, how do you end up with more money than you started with. Tithing is about letting go of your control and having your faith built as you trust in God to provide for you in a supernatural way. Until you learn to let go of things you are subject to their power but when you let go you are free to live a powerful faith filled live.

Anyone on the Titanic that didn’t want to leave the false safety of the BIG ship, that didn't let go of the railing and get in the Lifeboat, they drown. Those that let go and even lept off the side of the sinking mamouth into the icy water and swam to the lifeboats, they were saved.

Let go of the fears and powers that are holding you back from living a powerful, fruitful life in God. Put your trust in Him and he will lift you up and protect you.

Have an awesome week,
Talk to you soon.

Steve A

Beautiful you

Life is Beautiful!

What is beautiful?
Is it a painting by one of the great artists, like Michelangelo?
Maybe it is a summer sunrise over the oceans in Hawaii?
How about a single delicate flower blossom in the middle of a desert?
Is it the way a mother cares for her newborn baby?
Is the Gospel beautiful?
Is God beautiful?
Is the Sacrifice of God bloodied and shredded and hung on a cross, is that beautiful?

Listening to most of Christian radio and watching Christian TV you would think that God expects us to get ourselves cleaned up and straightened out before we could ever come before Him. That could not be further from the truth

If you have children and have had the blessing of being part of a birth then you will understand that beauty is often not what we would expect, if you have not seen a birth I’ll explain.
Birth is nothing like you see on TV, even the “real birth Shows” don’t do it justice.

Birthing is messy, it is bloody and can be loud. It has the potential to be very scary, very inconvenient, emotions run wild. Birth is painful and requires an enormous amount of energy.
Birth is not for the weak of heart.
Birth is Beautiful!

You have been birthed by God.
Before the foundations of the earth were considered, before God hovered over the great abyss that would become the earth, He thought of you, everything about you, your hair color, your skin color, how tall you would be, what gifts He would give you, who your parents would be, everything about you.
You are part of His plans for mankind.

God knew you before sin had entered the world.

He made us to live in a perfect world, to walk and talk with Him everyday in an intimate relationship.

That opportunity is still available to us.
Reach out to God and know He made you and He loves you. Walk with Him and Talk with Him as thought you were in the Garden with Him today

Life is messy and bloody and it can be painful, at times the world can get loud and try to drown out the voice of God. There will be inconveniences and scary moments, But God will be there with you and He will get you through anything that you come up against if you hold onto Him, trust in Him and put your faith in HIM. You will see all that mess; blood and pain turn into a beautiful relationship with God

Life is Beautiful.
You are Beautiful.
God is Beautiful!


Ephesians 1:
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he[c] predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.


Have a beautiful week, talk to you soon

A Gift for you.

FOCUS

FOCUS!

FOCUS!!

If it was only that easy.

If every one who followed Christ with a bit of passion and determination would focus on the task at hand, the entire world would be transformed into a planet full of Christ followers in a matter of months.

The Whole Earth!! ……WOW!!!

So why after 2008 years of Ministry Team building, Church Building programs and Stirring preaching are we (Christ followers) still battling to convert and awaken the occupants of the Earth to the truth and power of our God.

Paul has revealed the simple answer to this simple question in his first writing to the Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 3:6 (The Message)
5-9Who do you think Paul is, anyway? Or Apollos, for that matter? Servants, both of us—servants who waited on you as you gradually learned to entrust your lives to our mutual Master. We each carried out our servant assignment. I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants, but God made you grow. It's not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow. Planting and watering are menial servant jobs at minimum wages. What makes them worth doing is the God we are serving. You happen to be God's field in which we are working.

Most people struggle with the gifts they are given, they either don’t see them as gifts or they misunderstand the gifts they have and dismiss them as insignificant.
For example compassion is a powerful gift, it is a quiet gift and is often over looked; however without compassion there is no salvation. It is because of Gods compassion and grace that we are saved.
Ephesians 2
8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast.

So, how powerful is compassion, when balanced with the wisdom of the spirit of God it is as important and powerful as any gift.

For a moment think about the job of a parent. A parent must perform many jobs and do all of them well. It is impossible to do everything “the best”, yet as a parent we must try our best to do our best.
God doesn’t ask us to be gifted at everything; He empowers us with a few gifts for a specific purpose.
Your children and family are your first mission field. They should be your first priority, and then go out into the world, the work place and your school.

Think about the impact you can have on people around you once you discover your gifts and start working in them as true spiritual gifts, not just as something you are good at.
Cultivate your gift, meet with a trusted leader of you church and see how you can fully apply your gifts in the work of ministry.

Compassion is just one of many gifts, they are all important and all are vital to the work of the Kingdom of God. Discover your gift and move in it!

Finally I want to encourage you with the words that God spoke to Joshua just before and again right after Moses died. These words are as powerful and relative today as the first time they were spoken. Take them and make them yours.

Joshua 1 (New International Version)
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

Focus on your Gifts and use then for the work of the Kingdom of God.

Be Blessed,
Talk again soon

Steve

Is love blind ?

Is love blind ?

I ask this in the nicest possible way of course.
Think about it, when you first fell in love with that special someone, didn’t you want to tell everyone?
Did you show everyone their picture and tell the whole world about the wonder of all they are?
I bet you wanted to spend every moment with them. When you were away from them you couldn’t stop thinking about them.

When we are in Love we have endless energy, we are happy, full of joy. Things that normally drive us crazy seem to be less bothersome.

The people who are written about throughout the Bible share one thing in common. They are in Love with their God and have an unquenchable passion and thirst for His presence in their lives. The knowledge that God loves them even more than they could even love Him is what gets these men through the challenges they face throughout their live.

No one in their right mind would endure half of the pain and torment that Moses and Joshua went through. Peter and Paul were both murdered, Stephen was beheaded.

Everyone will face challenges in their life, some will be bigger then others. Difficult times do not mean that God is not with you. Usually it is quite the opposite. God brings us through a challenge to transform us into the Men and Women of God we need to be, to accomplish the purpose He has for us.

Fall in love with God, dive right in to His presence, read His word and drink of His spirit and watch how God transforms you into a new person.

You are called to a great purpose!

Deuteronomy 6:5
5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.


Have an awesome week, talk to you soon.

Keep it Simple

Keep it Simple!

Easy to say, but not so easy to do.

Life is so busy, it’s not just now, suddenly that things are busy. Life has been busy for a while. It’s true that the modern man has more things to distract him, but really it boils down to the decisions that we make.

Everyday decisions that seem so mundane are actually having life long and life shortening effects on us.

From the moment we wake we are setting up our future, with every choice we make.

Should I get up 15 minutes early and spend a couple of minutes praying about my day ahead? Or should I sleep in a little later and rush around trying to get ready.

Should I eat a healthy breakfast? Or should I eat one of those 1000 calorie muffins from Crispy Cream ( Yes I know they taste good.) … ( But you know they kill you the rest of the day.)

When your children or friends are sick, do you reach for the Tylenol, or do you reach out your hands and pray for them?

When you are asked about your faith, do you tell people how you really feel about God, or do you shy away from the conversation?


I spent about 2 weeks out of this past month on my back with the Flu and a nasty stomach virus. It is amazing how simple things can get when we are forced to slow down and take it easy.

There is nothing that God has planned for you that you will miss out on.

But their will absolutely be a time in your life that you will question God and wonder if he has forgotten you. You will be sure that you should be doing something or should be somewhere, and you will not be happy.
These are the most important moments to remember to simply trust God.

In the book of Daniel, Daniel is walking along with some friends and is probably wondering if God has forgotten him. Daniel has been praying about something big and has gotten no answer from God. Suddenly a man appears in front of Daniel and his friends. Daniels friends don’t see the man, but Daniel does.

Daniel’s heart and mind were set on seeing an answer from God, even though the circumstances around him said God had not heard his prayer and that he was seeing things, his heart told him to continue to believe for an answer from God and that, yes indeed there was a Man standing in front of him and his friends.

Having faith is not about blindly expecting things from God, simply because you want something and can’t figure out how to get it on your own. God is not a magic genie.

Faith is the belief in a truth. Faith comes and grows when we see God move in our lives and in the lives of those around us. It starts small and grows according to how much it is exercised.

Trust God with something small and see how simple life can get when you say, God I trust you with this “thing”. I can’t do it without you. Help me grow my faith in you.

Then trust God, Pray and read the Bible.

Have an Outstanding week!
Talk again soon.

Steve

Creating Atmosphere

Last time I wrote to you I started to touch on the subject of “Atmosphere”. Today I want to dive a little further into this idea of creating Atmosphere.

It is a good idea for you to go back and read the previous message (Jan 28th) if you have not done so already, to better understand what this message is all about.


1 Corinthians Chapter 2:
1When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.[a] 2For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.


The Apostle Paul writes in his first letter to the Church in Corinth that he knows nothing except Jesus Christ.

Paul knew that he had to set a strong message right up front, “It is all about Jesus!”
Nothing else matters because all things are subject to the authority and power of God.



Creating Atmosphere is really all about you cultivating your relationship with God. Spending personal time in prayer and worship are spiritual food and supernatural steroids to the Christian life. Your relationship with God will develop and your world and everyone you influence will be blessed because of your pushing into God.

Equally important is the removal of the walls and dividers in your life. Look at it this way, from this point forward you are always in church. No matter if you are at work or at home or at a ballgame. You carry the spirit of God with you where ever you go.

You are the church!


Everywhere you go people will know something is different about you, they will be attracted to the Atmosphere that you create because you will be dripping with the spirit of God.

Remember Jesus did not come to condemn the world but to save it, so that should be our goal as well.

Lets stop here this week and let’s try something, and let’s make it attainable. This week commit to spending 3 minutes of uninterrupted prayer time. Find a quiet place where you will not be interrupted and talk to God. Open your heart, pray in the spirit, get excited about all that God is doing in your life, just go for it .
For some of you it will seem like a very small amount of time, that’s OK if you want to spend more time, go for it, BUT for everyone else lets just try for 3 minutes.
Your life will never be the same, your marriage will be better, your family will be stronger, your job will be more rewarding.

While you're praying ask God to fill you with His spirit to overflowing and then let God loose in your world.


Have an awesome week and we will talk again soon.

Be Blessed,
Steve

Atmosphere

Happy New Year to all, hope your Christmas and New Years were wonderful and that this year is the beginning of an incredible adventure in your relationship with God.
We live in an incredible time in history and in an amazing place to see all that God is doing all around us.
One of the greatest gifts I have ever been given has been the privilege of being part of an amazing church on Long Island NY. What made this church so special for me was the constant visits from men and women of God from all over the globe. On average we would have a guest speaker every two months, many were from places you would not go even if you were paid a lot of money
The interesting part was that everyone who spoke had amazing stories about what God was doing all over the world, not just in Greenlawn NY. My worldview and my God view was shifted and enlarged. It is hard to be unhappy with your house and the car you drive when you hear stories of teenagers in Africa who walk for two hours to go to a bible study. The world starts to look different and inevitably so does God.
So very much of our lives are viewed from a very narrow window, everybody wants to believe that they are aware of all that is going on around them, but only the truly wise know that we are living life, spiritual life that is as though we are blindfolded.

1 Corinthians 1:18
18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

There can be little debate that our natural mind and our spiritual life are at odds. Most of the everyday things we worry about are of little consequence to our spiritual calling. We are always looking for God and His call and purpose for our lives and it seams like the harder we look the more elusive God is.
There is never just one thing we need to know or understand about God.
There is however one thing that makes an enormous difference not only in how you see the world but how the world views you; Atmosphere.

Take the finest seed the most fertile soil and the purest water, put them together in Napa CA. In April and in a couple of months you will have an incredible harvest. Take the same seed, soil and water and bring them together on Mars and you get nothing, the atmosphere simply can not sustain life.
We fight through life and try to bring life to a lost world within a caustic atmosphere and don’t understand why there is no harvest. We have to create an atmosphere of God, a place where people breathe in the breath of the Spirit of God in a positive loving environment.
Create an Atmosphere of heaven around your life and watch how your world changes, lives are healed, chains are broken and devils flee.

Think about this; corporations spend billions of dollars to create a certain atmosphere in stores and places of business to make you spend more money and be more productive. Sounds, smells, colors are all used to influence you and create the illusion of an atmosphere; this causes you to think or feel a certain way.

Begin today; you can change the world around you.
Next month we’ll talk more about how to create a godly atmosphere that is in touch with the world today.

Have an awesome week,
Talk to you soon.